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Yusuf İsmail
|weight= |birth_date = |death_date = |birth_place = Shumen, Bulgaria |death_place = off Nova Scotia, Canada |resides= |billed=Shumia, Turkey |trainer= |debut=1894 |retired= |website= |}} Youssuf Ishmaelo, known in Turkish as Koca Yusuf (January 1 1857-July 4, 1898) was a Turkish professional wrestler who competed in Europe and the United States as Yusuf Ismail, the Terrible Turk during the 1890s. Widely known for his massive size and brute strength, he was recognized as one of the top three strongmen in the world by Alan Calvert, pioneer of American weight training, and photographer Edmond Desbonnet during the turn of the century. Prior to his arrival in the United States, he remained undefeated in his near four-year career and successfully challenged Evan "Strangler" Lewis for the American Heavyweight Championship in 1898. Ishmaelo was the original wrestler to be known as "the Terrible Turk", however several others including Armenian American Robert Manoogian also used the name throughout the first half of the 20th century. Biography Early career and the "Turkish Invasion" Little is known of his early life prior to his first wrestling appearance in 1894, however, according to Scottish wrestling historian William Baxter, Yusuf Ismail was born Youssuf Ishmaelo in 1857 in Deliorman region of Bulgaria (then part of the Ottoman Empire), where Karaman Turks widely lived then and now. In A Pictorial History of Wrestling, the English wrestling writer Graeme Kent incorrectly wrote that Yusuf Ismail was not Turkish, but French. Ismail (also known as "Koca Yusuf"-"Big Yusuf" among Turks) first came to prominence when he won the Kirkpinar tournament in 1887 against the former champion Kel Alico, who was standing non-defeated for twenty years. Edmond Desbonnet claimed in his book Les Rois de la Lutte (1910), the Turkish invasion began in 1894 after a wrestler named Joseph Doublier was defeated by a rival, Sabès. In a search to find someone who could defeat Sabès, Doublier visited Turkey and brought back three wrestlers: Kara Osman, Filiz Nurullah, and the 6’2", 250-pound Yusuf Ismail. In his Paris debut, Ishmaelo defeated Sabès in four seconds. Sabès had attempted to use a front belt hold, but Koca Yusuf withstood the hold and pinned him using a chokehold. Yusuf spent the next three years in France where he dominated opponents. A colorful figure, he was also known for his fierce pride. When rivals Antonio Pierri and Tom Cannon threatened to bring in a wrestler to defeat him, Ismail reportedly said he would cut his throat if he was ever beaten. His match against another fellow Turk, Hergeleci Ibrahim, was said to be one of the "most brutal bouts ever seen on the mat" at the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris. Youssuf became so enraged during the match that he tore Mahmout's nostrils, broke his ribs and twisted his arms. Although referee Tom Cannon had attempted to stop the match, only the intervention of a police inspector and six officers along with several spectators were able to separate the two. Kara Osman had been originally scheduled to face Ismail, but fell ill and Mahmout had taken his place. According to a rumor heard by French promoter Joseph Doublier, Osman had withdrawn from the match fearing his life because of an unspecified grudge between them. Tour of the United States He continued to managed by Doublier until 1898 when Antonio Pierri took him to New York. Taken on by promoter William A. Brady, the two appeared at the London Theatre in New York offering $100 to anyone who could stay in the ring with him for 15 minutes. George Bothner, a well known lightweight wrestler, was the only one to accept the challenge. Although being outweighed by at least 100 pounds, Bothner claimed "there wasn't a man alive who could pin him on his back in 15 minutes" and accused Ismail of being an impostor "like so many other so-called terrors". Despite his bravado, Bothner was defeated several days later and suffered a neck injury during the match. He described their encounter years later to Nat Fleischer in his book From Milo to Londos (1937). :"He was a modern Hercules and he knew how to apply his punishing strength, as he was as quick as a jungle cat and master of all holds. Youssuf came at me like a bull. He rushed me right off the mat into a bunch of chorus girls in the wing. The first thing I knew I found myself helpless. The Turk picked me up as if I was a kitten. Never before have I felt such terrible strength. Before I could give a wiggle or squirm he dashed me down on the boards with terrific force, knocking all the strength and wits out of me." :"They told me that after I had landed, Youssuf rolled me over with his foot, looked out over the audience, gave a contemptuous snort and walked off the stage. When I came to, I was a sadder, but wiser young man. Somehow or other I got into my clothes, hobbled out into the street and started to walk up Third Avenue towards my home. Youssuf had given my neck such a wrench that he almost tore it from my shoulders. It was several days before I could look in the direction I was headed." He was undefeated prior to his arrival in New York until his disqualification in a match against World Greco-Roman Heavyweight Champion Ernest Roeber at Madison Square Garden on March 26, 1898. Sprechman, Jordan and Bill Shannon. This Day in New York Sports. Champaigne, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC, 1998. (pp. 86, 121) ISBN 1-57167-254-0 Ismail, who may have intentionally fouled himself, caused the crowd to riot when he pushed Roeber out of the ring, a raised platform, and who fell head first to the ground five feet below. Roeber was unconscious for several minutes and many in the crowd believed he had been killed causing spectators to charge into the ring. Only a small police guard under Chief of Police John McCullagh were able to block the main body from entering. Roeber was revived after a few minutes and examined by physicians for injuries. Having landing on his shoulder, it was announced that he had suffered a back injury and decided that he would not be able to continue. Referee Hugh Leonard awarded the match to Roeber and, with calls to "Kill the Turk" and threats of lynching from those in attendance, Ismail was escorted by police to his dressing room. Ismail's manager, William Brady, offered to stage an exhibition bout between Ismail and Tom Cannon but McCullagh refused to allow the event to continue due to concerns of rioting. The match was described in the 1907 novel The Substitute: A Football Story by sports writer Walter Camp. Camp, Walter. The Substitute: A Football Story. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1909. (pp. 123-125) A rematch between the two was held at the Metropolitan Opera House on April 30. During the bout, the two began a shoving match which caused their managers, William Brady and Martin Julian, to enter the ring. Brady and Julian, who also managed rival heavyweight boxing champions Jim Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons, began arguing over the management of their respective men. When Fitzsimmons attempted to intervene, several fans stormed the ring and referee Herman Wolff declared the match a no-contest before the event once again ended in a near riot. Opera House management closed the venue to wrestling events soon after. Months later, he defeated Evan "Strangler" Lewis for the American Heavyweight Championship in Chicago, Illinois. Lewis was unable to overcome Ismail's massive size and strength nor manage to use his sleeper hold during the match. Ismail had the $5,000 prize money converted to gold and carried it in a money belt along with the title. Death He was heading to Turkey on the French transatlantic boat called SS La Bourgogne on May 21, 1898. But he drowned around Sable Island (60 miles northeast to NY) due to a collision with an Irish cargo liner on July 4, 1898. His body was lost in the Atlantic Ocean. There are several urban legends surrounding his death, including people not allowing him access to a lifeboat for fear that his weight would overturn it, to the theory that he refused to remove his gold championship belt which weighed him down enough where he could not swim back to the surface of the ocean. References Championships and Accomplishments American Heavyweight Champion (1 Time) External links *Deceased Superstars - Youssuf Ishmaelo *CageMatch.de - The Terrible Turk *Commemorative Coins issued by Turkish Mint *Official Web Site about Koca Yusuf Category:1857 births Category:1898 deaths Category:Turkish professional wrestlers Category:Bulgarian sport wrestlers az:Yusif İsmayıl tr:Koca Yusuf